Bathroom Redecorating Tips

(HIT) - Is the bathroom the last bastion of privacy? Many designers think so, and they’re redecorating their clients' bathrooms accordingly.

So says Joost de Quack, a tile expert who works extensively with the architects and designers. He explains that the hectic pace of today's living increases the need for relaxation and privacy, and often the bathroom is the only room where this is possible.

"In the less frantic past, ladies had their boudoirs, and the men had their studies," he notes. "But the 'togetherness' of the 1950s swept families into non-stop intimacy, and nowadays so many of us are in crowds most of the day. It's little wonder that the need for personal privacy has become a priority."

What exactly does this mean in terms of redecorating and design?

De Quack says it makes a great difference. Fixtures, surfaces, colors, and themes are chosen to create well-being and relaxation. "This is one of the reasons that bathroom designers choose quietly elegant tile and stone surfaces for today's bath," he says. "Yes, bathrooms are still luxurious, but the slick spa-type spaces we saw a few years ago are out of favor. Instead, designers are looking to the classical era, and sometimes even antiquity, for redecorating inspiration.

"They like tile and stone because they are classic materials with the easy-care characteristics required for the bathroom. In addition, these materials can provide a lot of texture and architectural interest, and that's especially important because the preferred colors for redecorating are decidedly neutral."

Bathroom Redecorating With Timeless Tile

According to Alexandra Coote, another talented Country Floors designer, the neutral colors chosen for today's bathrooms are warm whites, bone, parchment, caramel, cafe au lait, taupes, sand, and grays … actually the gamut of earthtones.

"It makes sense," says Coote. "The bathroom is your first destination of the day. Consider your pre-coffee condition (yawn …) and you'll definitely want to redecorate with colors that are gentle on the eyes. Besides, ceramic tile and stone are such long-lasting materials that timeless colors and designs are advisable. And last, but certainly not least, neutral backgrounds allow the very personal type of decorating that we see in today's best baths."

Coote says that it's not unusual to see cherished antique sideboards, dressers and chairs in these classic bathrooms. Beautiful wall sconces, mirrors, prized collections, bookcases, mellow antique rugs, and even fireplaces find their way into such bathroom redecorating projects, too. "Bathrooms have attained a status once reserved for living rooms and libraries," she notes.

Texture Counts When Redecorating

Since texture is important, designers and homeowners are especially enthusiastic about Country Floors' collections of sculpted art tiles depicting themes from nature, unusual moldings, mosaics, artfully aged marbles, limestone, and reclaimed antique French terracotta. The sculptured tiles are limited to walls and look best when they are combined with fields of color-coordinated plain tiles. Some of the relief tiles, such as those featuring flowering vines and other continuous themes, should be used in rows, while others, including those depicting shells or starfish, could well be interspersed here and there.

Decorative moldings abound at Country Floors showrooms, where display panels show them in multiples for great architectural interest. They are extremely effective separating various fields of tile designs or colors.

According to Coote and de Quack, the firm's limestone and aged marble tiles are favorites for baths, not just for floors, but also for shower walls, vanity tops and tub surrounds. Often, they are combined with marble mosaics used as decorative borders.

For all-white baths, the highly decorative tiles that have been a European tradition for hundreds of years are often used as accents. Small murals are favorites because they are pretty and uplifting, but never overpowering.

Tile concepts for the bath can be seen at Country Floors showrooms throughout the nation. For more information about redecorating with tile, visit Country Floors online at www.CountryFloors.com.

Courtesy: Home Improvement News and Information Center